Christiane Martel (born Christiane Magnani on 18 January 1936) is a French actress and beauty queen. She became the second woman to win

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

, in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

.Christiane Magnani, la “Miss Universo” que reina en el corazón de Miguel Alemán Velasco
''Hola''. 3 July 2013 She was the only French woman to hold the Miss Universe title until

Iris Mittenaere Iris Mittenaere (; born 25 January 1993) is a French model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2016. She is the second Miss Universe from France after Christiane Martel, who was elected Miss Universe 1 ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. Martel was born in Nancy to a modest family of Italian ancestry. She was Miss Châtellerault in 1952. She was crowned Miss Cinémonde and represented

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

at Miss Universe 1953 where she became the second Miss Universe. She was crowned by actress,

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

as Miss Universe 1952,

Armi Kuusela Armi Helena Kuusela (born 20 August 1934) is a Finnish-American charity worker, model and beauty queen. In 1952, she won the Finnish national beauty contest Suomen Neito and was presented with a trip to the United States to participate in the fi ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

gave up her crown. Martel's runners-up in the

pageant was

Myrna Hansen Myrna Hansen (born August 5, 1934) is an American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1953. Education Hansen is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond E. Hansen. She graduated from Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, I ...

of the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, followed by delegates of Japan,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and Australia. Shortly after her reign, Martel embarked on a successful career in international films, appearing in movies such as '' Yankee Pasha'', '' So This Is Paris'', ''

Drop the Curtain ''Drop the Curtain'' (Spanish: ''Abajo el telón'') is a 1955 Mexican comedy film directed by Miguel M. Delgado and starring Cantinflas, Christiane Martel and Beatriz Saavedra.Lezcano, p. 98. The film's art direction was by Gunther Gerszo. Plot A ...

'', the '' 1956 version'' of '' Corazón salvaje'' (playing the villain Aimée), ''Viva el Amor!'', ''

Rosa Blanca ''Rosa Blanca'' (''White Rose'') is a 1961 Mexican film starring Ignacio López Tarso, based on a novel by B. Traven B. Traven (; Bruno Traven in some accounts) was the pen name of a novelist, presumed to be German, whose real name, nationa ...

'' and her last film to date, 1961's ''Leoni al Sole''. Martel was married briefly to Ronnie Marengo, a department store heir, whom she divorced in 1955. In 1961 she married

Miguel Alemán Velasco Miguel Alemán Velasco (born 18 March 1932 in Veracruz) is a Mexican politician, businessman and philanthropist. He is a former senator and governor of Veracruz. Alemán Velasco is the son of former Mexican president Miguel Alemán Valdés ...

, who would become

Governor of Veracruz The governor, according to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave in Mexico, the Executive Power is invested in one individual, called "''Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign Sta ...

and is the son of

Miguel Alemán Valdés Miguel Alemán Valdés (; 29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) was a Mexican politician who served a full term as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952, the first civilian president after a string of revolutionary generals. His administr ...

, former

president of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

. They have three daughters and one son. Their son, Miguel Alemán Magnani is a stakeholder of

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

and the owner of

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

Interjet Interjet (official legal name ABC Aerolíneas, S.A. de C.V.), also known as Interjet Airlines, was a Mexican low-cost carrier headquartered in Mexico City. The airline operated scheduled flights to and from various destinations within Mexico, as ...

.Christiane Martel Profile
glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com She made recent television appearances at the Miss Universe pageants in 1989, 1993, and 2007 that were held in Mexico. She was a celebrity judge at the Miss Universe 1978 pageant. Her last television appearance in France was on 3 December 2011 at the Miss France pageant. She appeared in a Mexican TV Show called Sale el sol in 2017 where she was interviewed.

References

External links

* 1936 births 20th-century French actresses Actresses from Paris French beauty pageant winners French emigrants to Mexico French female models French film actresses French people of Italian descent Living people Miss Universe 1953 contestants Miss Universe winners {{Europe-pageant-bio-stub